Boho-Ho and a Blog Full of Fun!

What makes you smile? Whatever it is, find a way to incorporate it into your home. Decor isn’t about creating the perfect stage set as a backdrop for our less-than-perfect-but-pretending-to-be-so lives. It’s about surrounding ourselves with beauty and fun to inspire LIVING and personal GROWTH.

I don’t hail from Bohemia (a real region in the Czech Republic), nor am I a gypsy-wannabe, aging flower child, or art-school dropout. I just love color and a little bit of quirk in my home and garden. And if I can get it without spending much or working too hard, all the better. That’s the kind of ideas I’ll share on this blog.

Let’s get started!

Subtle & sweet…

…I found this restful bedroom on one of my favorite blogs, House of Turquoise, but it originally appeared in Traditional Home magazine. My own bedroom is decorated in similar shades of blue and aqua because I find it so relaxing, but that’s not why I included it here. Notice the sweet dog statuette on the mantel shelf over the bed? Look how it’s turned toward the wall, as if examining the painting. Detail like this in a room adds to its depth but also its smile factor. To see more photos from this home, jump over here.

Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water…

…Your bathtub may be elegant like this one, but more likely it’s builder’s grade porcelain (like mine now) or Fiberglas (previous home). Either way, you can have the look of a custom mural and pretend to settle in for a soak alongside an exotic sea creature! These octopus tentacles are a wall decal–easy to apply and easy to remove. Plus, the design comes in six sizes and 22 colors, as well as a reverse option. And it’s affordable–another reason it will make you smile! Check it out here.

Serve up a curve and head for home plate…

…Some plates are too pretty to waste on food, and the way these follow the arch of the doorway, they seem to invite us to explore the cute red and yellow retro kitchen beyond. The boHO in me also adores the exclamation point in the form of the repurposed 1950s TV cabinet. If your home lacks arched doorways, no worry. Accent any door or window corner, or arrange elements in a freeform shape on a blank wall. See more photos from this home here.

If pillows could talk, they’d say…

…You can never have too many, right? That’s a discussion I’m always having with my husband, Chris, who doesn’t like to move them when he sits down to watch TV. But this photo tells me I need MORE pillows to make a cascade on one side and leave just enough room for Chris to sit without moving a thing. He’ll love me for it (wink-wink)! For more interiors photographed by Portland, ME, photographer James R. Salomon, check out his online portfolio.

A boHO welcome…

…I’m not your typical wreath-on-the-front-door sort of gal, but I’d gladly hang this because I love to decorate my garden with–you guessed it–quirky, boHO ornaments. Cathy Cobblestone of Cobblestone Farms makes arrangements from old and broken tools. This one even has an attached bucket for keeping the flowers or a plant refreshed as part of the living display. I also love the rusty shovel head and the sweet bird’s nest with eggs. Hop on over here for instructions and even more great garden ideas.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for more boHO inspiration.

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